A New Chapter of Harry Potter
by nalupokemonfreak
Summary: I write a lot of these, and this is one of the first ones that I've written LONG, MULTIPLE chapters of, so I'm posting it. These are my personal fantasies on paper (or would it be SCREEN) so PLEASE don't judge. It's me (OC, I guess) X Fred, and then George X My-Friend-Kylee (OC too, I guess) So... Yea! Rated T to be safe...
1. Chapter 1: Back to Hogwarts

My Life in Hogwarts - Takes Place During the Fifth Book

Flopping down onto her best friend's bed, Brianna Trotti grinned and said, "This is going to be our year." Raising an eyebrow on what was an almost every-year occurrence, Kylee Keiser and Leslie Emerson, who was present at the pre-Hogwarts sleepover as well, shot questioning glances at each other. Kylee finally settled on a drawn-out, "Really?" directed at Brianna, smirking a little bit at the 17 year old that still had such childish and whimsical ideas.

"Yes, really!" Brianna imitated the draw in that last word, smiling broadly at Leslie and Kylee, before glancing over at Brittany, who was curled up writing on Kylee's beanbag chair. "I've decided that we will stand out this year! We'll join our house's Quidditch team, or join the gobstones club, or (I hope) one of us will become head girl!" It was a rare occasion where the girls had STILL not gotten their Hogwarts letters. They left tomorrow! Thank goodness both Brianna's and Kylee's moms worked at the Ministry of Magic, or the whole gang wouldn't have the needed supplies!

"I sincerely hope we get our letters before we leave, because the suspense is KILLING me. Who's head boy, and who's head girl? UGH!" Brittany looked up and smiled at Brianna.

"Bri, we all know who's becoming head girl. It's the head boy I'm confused about..." Everyone fell silent at Brittany's statement, all of them wondering the same thing: Who WILL be head boy? They all knew who it WOULDN'T be, and that's either one of the Weasley twins, but you never know...

Brianna had many ideas and had written them all down, and was explaining all of them to the others before they all heard a tap on the window. It was an owl! Brianna ran to the window, praying that it was their Hogwarts letters (or so she later said, she really just hoped it was hers) but it was just a letter from Caleb Johnson and Alex Ray, who were having the same type of sleepover at Caleb's house a block away.

Caleb wanted to know if he, Alex, and Sebastian Brock could come over and hang out with them. Kylee ran up to ask her mom, but by the time she came down with a 'yes', Brianna had already scrawled the same answer on the original correspondence and was sending Caleb's estranged owl, Zander, back out the window. The girls were in Kylee's basement, and her basement had a window that opened and shut above ground level just barely, so the boys came over immediately after Brianna had sent back Zander and hopped through the window onto the beanbag chair, which Brittany had smartly moved over to the area underneath it.

Brianna explained to them what she had already explained to the girls, and her explanation was met with the same drawn out "Really?" from Caleb and Sebastian. Brianna was getting really annoyed with their skepticism. They all groaned when Brianna took out the graphs.

Caleb, Alex, and Sebastian went back to Caleb's house a few hours later, shortly after which the girls fell asleep listening to Brianna explain the years game plan. Brianna fell asleep eventually, once she realized she no longer had an audience. They all woke to the same tap, tap, tap on the basement window, and Brianna was already grabbing the letters (!) from the owl by the time anyone else took notice. Anyone who was even still HALF asleep was completely awake by the time she squealed at her Hogwarts letter.

When Brianna had opened it, a head girl pin fell out! Kylee looked up and muttered 'great, Bri' before mumbling a not-so-nice word and rolling back over, trying to scavenge back SOME shut eye before...

"GIRLS! GET UP! BIG, BIG DAY!" Her mom was downstairs. Kylee got up without hesitation; her mom was scary when aggravated, and that was the LAST thing she wanted today. The others girls grumbled and tried to locate their trunks so they could find their 'first day back/train ride' clothes. They were all neatly laid on top of their trunks, either curtesy of Brianna's 'everything must be perfect on the first day' attitude, or Kylee's mother's perfectionist ways.

They were all changed and ready in 5 minutes, probably because every few seconds Kylee's mom would point to her watch and give the girl's a death glare, and they would hurry up just a little bit more. Brianna wrote a quick letter to Caleb, expressing that although she was sorry if she woke him, but they SHOULD be up by now, and also agreeing one last time where they were meeting at the platform so they could all find a compartment together.

She took her owl, Hazel, out of her cage and tied the envelope to her leg. After nibbling on her finger, Hazel flew over to the window and patiently waited for Brianna to open it. Then she flew off towards Caleb's house. Brianna turned back towards the room and made one final check of her trunk, and then (ignoring the girl's objections) checked their trunks as well to make sure no one had forgotten anything. Then grinning widely, she said,

"Off the Hogwarts!"

The boys met with the girls near the sign at the platforms entrance that read '9 3/4' , and begun to walk towards the train. They said their goodbyes, said some hello's, and finally boarded the Hogwarts Express. Kylee took a deep breath and grabbed hold of Brittany's trunk as well, as she had gone off to track down the snack trolley early, and Brianna smiled. Leslie took at her notebook and jotted down a drawing idea (Hogwarts Express, see Collin Creevy for pictures) while Caleb and the guys just started moving forward to find a compartment.

They all ended up in the far back, but they were pretty compact, no one had any space. It got worse when Brittany came back from her snack cart endeavor. She offered to leave, but Brianna got up and said she'd see everyone in the common room. They were all in the same year and in Gryffindor, and they all had the same classes. She'd see them later.

She tried going to the compartment on the opposite side of the hall, and she ended up staying there. She wasn't friends with these people, but at least she KNEW them. Some other seventh year Gryffindor's occupied the apartment, and she'd only have to stay there until 11:30, when all prefects and the head boy and girl had to meet in the prefect's carriage. She already had her whole schedule for prefects planned, as a list of patrol areas and the prefect's names had come with the badge in her letter. It didn't say the head boy's name, which was odd... Maybe he had been last minute, too...

The people in the carriage were obviously planning something against school rules, but so far, Brianna didn't have any reason to stop them. Not like she really needed a reason, after all, Fred and George Weasley were always looking or finding trouble, along with their sidekicks, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinet, Katie Bell, and Lee Jorden. Brianna finally decided to just sit and wait them out, they'd have to say something incriminating EVENTUALLY. But they knew her, she was the prefect that caught them using the secret passage behind the one-eyed witch statue. They weren't going to say anything incriminating with her around.

For a minute, Brianna considered joining them on whatever it was they were doing. It looked like they were having fun, planning whatever it is they were planning. But then she remembered: I'm head girl now, I can't do that type of stuff anymore; even though she never did it before, either.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, Brianna glanced down at her watch. It was 11:28! She was going to be late! Brianna grabbed her cloak and her trunk and left, not noticing that a particular red-head was rushing to that very same meeting from the very same carriage.

"I wonder what Bri's doing right now." Sebastian laughed at Leslie's question.

"Oh, she's probably still making last minute preparations to that diagram of her's that's going to slow the flow of rule-breaking in a 'school based society'." Everyone except Leslie laughed, who was looking at them all questioningly. She was so surprised that they all just made fun of one of their best friends like that. Sebastian looked at her quizzical expression and said, "Come on, you know it's true. Laugh a little!" Leslie just shook her head.

"I really don't think you should be laughing at her like that. There's plenty of things I could say at laugh at behind ALL of your backs, but would I do it? No, it's WRONG. Caleb, if someone said that, I could just as easily say 'oh, he's probably attempting to draw a picture he'll expect us to praise later,' or Sebastian? I could say, 'he's probably still looking at computer parts he'll never have but he'll brag about anyway'. Don't make fun of her for actually DOING something she's GOOD at! At least she's not expecting praise or envy for what she has or doesn't have!"

Everyone stared a little at her outburst; Leslie was usually just as quiet as Brittany. They guessed she had a right to be upset, they were all kind of jerks about it. They all mumbled, 'yeah... yeah, you're right, Les.' Leslie nodded and looked back down at her sketchbook, which currently hand a rough drawing of all her friends around her... Except in this reality, Brianna was there, too.

Brianna made it to the prefect's carriage (she knew exactly where it was, as she had been going there every day back for two years now) just as the other prefects were starting to fill in. Professor McGonagall motioned for her to come sit on her right, and Brianna made the logical assumption that the left seat was for the head boy.

A boy Brianna did NOT expect to be here was Fred Weasley. Was he in trouble? Was that why he was here? Obviously NOT, as the Professor motioned for him to sit on her left. Was this the trouble seat she was sitting in? Because there was NO way that Fred Weasley was the head boy, she would've noticed his...

WHAT?! Brianna just then saw it, the very badge pinned haphazardly on his chest. Brianna was astonished, what on EARTH was the Headmaster thinking? Professor McGonagall stood up and began by telling the prefects who the heads were. Brianna waited patiently for her Fred-Weasley-is-head-boy-notion to be proven wrong, to learn that he had either created or stolen the head boy pin, but the Professor said this:

"Our head girl this year is Brianna Trotti, and our head boy is-" Brianna leaned forward a little bit, "Fredrick Weasley." Brianna's heart stopped. Why on EARTH would they let HIM be head boy? Professor McGonagall continued her little speech without noticing her head girl had nearly fainted, and had looked over at Fred with a suspicious glint in her eye. He seemed to be really enjoying this, which is what SHE should be doing. Brianna sighed and forced herself to pay attention until the Professor cued them to stand and state their speeches and pass out the prefect assignments.

Brianna immediately stood up and clearly stated, "Hullo, I'm Brianna Trotti. I'm your head girl this year, and I have all of your prefect assignments and partners already prepared for you. Please come up when I call your name. Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger, Pansy Parkinson, Ronald Weasley," At this Fred grabbed the paper Brianna was about to hand to Ron and looked at it.

"Well, ickle Ronnikins, looks like you're paired with me at least once a week! That should be some quality brother-bonding time." Fred's smile LOOKED innocent enough, but Ron looked absolutely horrified. Then he glanced at Brianna, his look saying 'why, oh WHY, would you do this to me?' Brianna coughed and resumed her way down the list as if nothing had happened. That's how a head girl should be, after all. Kind yet stern, professional yet still a child, and fun yet rule-abiding.

Fred smirked at her when all the prefects had left to patrol the train, holding out his arm as if to lace it with hers. Brianna merely glanced at it in her peripheral vision before starting towards the door. They were the last ones in the carriage and needed to get going and set an example, yet Fred seemed to have other ideas. He grabbed her at the elbow and smiled again. Brianna raised an eyebrow.

"Yes? What is it, Fred, we have to get going-" "Come on, now that we're practically partners you don't have to be so cold!" Brianna tilted her head to the side. "I'm not being cold, I'm being responsible. You know, I heard in my compartment earlier that a few students had smuggled in dungbombs. Fred scratched his head, and then said,

"Wait, you were in MY compartment-" But Brianna was already halfway out the door, on her way to the compartment which probably housed more than a hundred dungbombs along with the other half of the Weasley twins and their almost-equally famous friends.

Let's just say Brianna was very aggravated with Fred by the time they actually GOT to the school.

Fred was very confused when he saw Brianna meet up with her friends at the table. It was like she transformed into a different person. He was about to walk up to her and see if her attitude stayed the same when George saw him and motioned him over. Family, and especially George, always comes first. He would see her later during patrol anyways.

Brianna finally found her friends and greeted them, asking them how their ride was. They all seemed a little more than embarrassed, and didn't exaggerate as much as they usually did, so Brianna knew something was wrong instantly.

"What's wrong? What happened? You guys?" They all glanced at her sheepishly. Brittany (surprisingly) was the first to speak up. "Well, it's just... Some things were said, and... It just made us uncomfortable. Can we not talk about it?" Brianna didn't pressure them anymore, and they were normal after that. Everyone (especially Kylee, and you'll learn more about why later) was really shocked when they learned who the head boy was. You'd think a house elf was dancing naked in front of the lot of them. Kylee looked over at Brianna and grinned, whispering (as they were seated next to each other) "I'm questioning you later."

Brianna gulped and glanced over at Fred and his friends, who were once again mulling over that notebook and bag. Brianna desperately wanted to go over there and peek into it, and then question him about the (predictable) contents, but she knew that she just wanted an excuse to go over there.

Sometimes, Brianna loved Fred Weasley too much for her own good.


	2. Chapter 2: Flirtatious Flashbacks

"Fred Weasley, WHAT do you think you're doing?" Brianna, astounded at the 'head boy', raced down the hall to where Fred was PRAISING a 3rd year Gryffindor that had just set off maybe 50 dungbombs in the Great Hall, losing Gryffindor FIFTY house points. "Fred, are you PRAISING HIM?" Fred smiled, patted the boy's head, and turned his attention to her.

"It was a good prank!" Brianna folded her arms and frowned at him. "What? It WAS!" Brianna just shook her head and turned away, otherwise he would surely see her smile that she had smothered for a few minutes. After she regained her composure, she turned back to him. "It MIGHT have been a good prank, I'm not saying it WAS" She added just because Fred had started to smile, "But you still shouldn't praise rule breakers, although I'm sure you get plenty of praise yourself, as they need to be punished, not rewarded. Gooday, Fred." And with that, she turned and began walking towards her first class.

She defiantly needed that little bit of happiness before she had to go to her least favorite class: Potions.

Fred just stood there for a minute or two before he realized that he had to head to potions as well, but he had already made up his mind. He had a mission. And he wasn't going to abandon it until it hit home.

Brianna finally made it to potions and sat down next to Leslie. Leslie looked up and smiled.

"Breezy, you were only two minutes before class begins! What made you so tardy?" Brianna smiled and said, "Ha ha, very funny. I was dealing with Fred Weasley." Leslie smirked knowingly (Kylee had informed her last night of Brianna's little secret) and went back to her drawing, the same one from the train. She was going over it in pen.

Brianna leaned over and smiled at the picture, then read ahead in the day's lesson. They were making Amortenia. Ew, gross. Brianna didn't want to know what smells turned her on! Besides, the odds of him smelling like them... She just didn't want to chance it. It might ruin her little fantasy of him.

Fred had just made it to class one minute after it had begun. His hair messed, his tie slack, he looked... Wow. Snape eyed him and pointed his wand at his desk, no less a shortcut to taking away points from Gryffindor. Brianna sighed and looked over at the head boy, her heart torn. She knew he was a bad influence on her, and her dreams and ideas, but she just felt DRAWN to him, like he would someday... I don't know, SAVE her. But fantasies are meant to stay just that: Fantasy's. Dreams and ideas were meant to be realized.

Fred looked over at her and winked. Brianna pretended to be put off, but she could tell it wasn't working. Out of the entirety of the school, she was probably the worst actor AND liar. She could only have it work in desperate times, like proving to the head boy that rules must be followed and such, but even that didn't last long. Fred smiled and looked towards the front of the class, where Snape had just finished writing the instructions for Amortenia.

Brianna and Leslie swiftly split up, Brianna getting the ingredients from her stores and the cabinet while Leslie flipped to the page in the book for the revisions Brianna and her dad (her dad worked in the department of intoxicating substances at the ministry of magic and was a potion master) had written in for a better end product (they had been doing this all year, as Brianna and her dad had created every potion, excluding Amortenia, over the summer, without fail). When Brianna returned, Leslie had water in her boiling cauldron and was making sure it was Brianna's dad's recommended temperature.

They added all the ingredients and had tied with the Weasley twins (surprisingly) for first successfully done. Snape had wanted everyone to see what it smelled like to them, and (not surprising one bit) Leslie smelled fresh parchment and her shampoo (which WAS surprising). Brianna didn't really KNOW what to make of her smell. It smelled like a lot of things mixed together, and it was confusing. She could make out... Grass? No, that smelled SPECIFICALLY like the Quidditch pitch when it's empty... And what was that? Is that watermelon? Well, Brianna did love watermelon... But she couldn't figure out what that MEANT. Was her true love going to be a watermelon that played Quidditch? Or someone who played Quidditch and ate watermelon? Love potions are SO confusing...

Fred and George took quick whiffs of the potion, but Fred caught something really distinct in his three seconds of heaven. Rubber and watermelon. Watermelon he understood, but why on earth would his Amortenia smell like rubber? He was tempted to smell it again, but he didn't. He really just wanted to know why it smelled like rubber. George, however, smelled something entirely different. Strawberries and books and... He couldn't describe it, but the scent he smelled along with those reminded him of music. Music.

They all smelled different things, but everyone was connected more than they could ever truly realize.

After potions Brianna left the classroom, what she smelled in the cauldron still going through her head. Although the potions had been vanished, she still smelled it. Amortenia is not only against the law to brew unless for educational purposes, but is also punishable by expulsion for brewing/bringing on school grounds. Brianna looked around, trying to locate the source of her Amortenia smell. Little did she know, Kylee, Fred, and George were experiencing the strange phenomena. Fred, although he may not SEEM like a responsible head boy, whispered at around the same time Brianna did, _'accio Amortenia'_.

Nothing. They both waited until they were nearly the only ones left in the hallway. Still, nothing. Finally, they were the last ones there. Brianna and Fred approached each other and both asked, "Did you smell it? The Amortenia?" They both nodded and looked around, as the smell still lingered. There wasn't anything in the hallway except for each other, now. Brianna looked at Fred skeptically. And then she grabbed his arm.

He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Then he sniffed. And his eyes went wide.

Brianna raised an eyebrow then. Then she sniffed. And she dropped his arm like it burned her and backed away in horror.

It was too crazy to be true. Fred narrowed his eyes and grabbed her book bag as Brianna did the same. They both checked each other's bags, but neither one held the eluded potion. Maybe it's just a coincidence? Brianna thought.

Brianna's cheeks were now flushing and Fred was rubbing the nape of his neck. Brianna finally broke the awkward silence.

"Um, we should- Er, class... And, uh, yeah- Transfiguration!" Fred nodded quickly and the duo set off for the class they were no doubt VERY late for.

"I'm glad you could finally join us, Miss Trotti and Mister Weasley. As you can see, we're doing a partnered exercise and as you're late, you are now partners. I'd like your explanation for your tardiness after class." Brianna looked over at Leslie and her other friends and sighed, while Fred waved at George, who was sitting next to Kylee Keiser.

When they sat down, Brianna whispered, "Did you put on cologne this morning?" Fred shook his head, and asked, "Perfume?" Brianna whispered that she had not put on perfume. They were in a bit of a pickle. Fred sighed to himself, and Brianna had to admit, she was secretly happy with this turn of events. She didn't know that Fred (secretly) felt the same way, and Fred didn't know about how she felt about him.

Neither did anyone ELSE, really. Kylee and Leslie figured it was some silly crush, but it went deeper than that. Ever since the first day on the Hogwarts Express...

_Brianna was so excited. It was her first day going to Hogwarts to learn magic, even though her parents had already taught her quite a bit. She had already read her year 1 through 4 books, and she just wanted to get in there to actually DO the magic. She just needed to find her childhood friends first... They agreed to sit with each other... _

_Brianna was peeking into a compartment when a boy fell into her from behind and she fell forward, her school skirt hiking up a bit. She pulled it down hastily and turned to see who had fallen into her. Shaggy red hair, a tie slung lazily around his neck and his wand out staring hostilely at another boy down the hall. He seemed better dressed, but he also seemed to show the same lack of care that the red-haired boy demonstrated. The better-dressed boy seemed to be taunting the boy who fell into her._

_"His father's the laughing stock of the ministry! What need does he need for a muggle car? And muggle electricity? The Weasley's are already poor enough without unneeded utilities!" The rich looking people around the boy laughed, and the red-haired boy started to shake and quiver. He shot a random spell at the boy and the boy lazily deflected it. The boy seemed older than them, in their 5th year AT LEAST, Brianna approximated. She stood up and blocked a spell that the boy had shot at the red-haired one. Folding her arms across her chest, she hastily said,_

_"We're not allowed to use magic outside of school! And fighting is extremely forbidden!" She didn't know why, but she had this urge to protect and fight for the red-haired boy. Suddenly, a boy who seemed just a tad older than them (maybe 12 or 13) with the same shock of red hair came bustling down the hall with his nose held high and a female professor behind him. He pushed past Brianna and the other red-haired boy, only pausing for a moment to look down at him, and pointed to the rich boy at the end of the hall. _

_"He's the one that taunted my family, but Fred over here initiated the fight. He chose to continue it, as you can see from my brother on the floor." So his name was Fred, and these two were related. But maybe Brianna had been wrong in her assumptions. Was this boy older? Was he a prefect? _

_The 'prefect' flounced (that's right: FLOUNCED) over to them, pushed past Brianna, and held out a hand to Fred, who ignored it. Brianna saw the boy's chest, he wasn't a prefect. Fred chose to go over to Brianna and hold out his hand. Brianna flushed, and she didn't know why, and she shook his hand. She introduced herself._

_"My name's Brianna." He smiled at her. "Fred. Fred Weasley."_

The moment she knew she was falling took place three years after this instance.

_It was during a Quidditch match, and her friends had lost her in the crowd, so she sat next to a random group of Gryffindor's. Ron Weasley (Fred and George's brother), Hermione Granger, and a few others. All of Fred's friends were on the Quidditch pitch, as was Harry Potter. It was a good game. But it was when Fred was flying off the pitch, and he was smiling and cheering and looked all around ADORABLE that Brianna knew she had both fallen and was falling deeper every moment she saw him._

_She knew he was a bad influence on her. She had dreams (that far back) and she needed Hogwarts and a good, solid resume to have them realized. But she couldn't help it. Stolen glances in the hall, hurried conversations, and accidentally daydreaming in his direction. She loved him, that much she knew. But she knew he couldn't POSSIBLY like her back. He had his world, she had hers. They were in parallel universes, two trains on two completely different tracks. But she couldn't help but wonder, if someday in the future, their paths would cross..._

Meanwhile, in the world of not-Brianna's-flashbacks, Fred was having his own nostalgic remembrance of the past. He couldn't stand it. What if he had said more than what he had on the first day of Hogwarts? More than, "Fred. Fred Weasley.". What if he waved to her at all those Quidditch matches he'd searched through the stands for her during, what if he'd winked at her more? Would they be together? Would they have a future?

Fred knew that, although to others she'd seemed cold and calculating, he had seen her with her friends. But they had known her her entire life. Known her before things like rules and school MATTERED. They didn't matter to him, but he knew that they mattered to her. He should have tried harder to break through her exterior... He should have tried harder to be her friend...

_"Fred Weasley, what are you doing out of bed?" Fred froze in his tracks, Lee had WARNED him about getting caught. He should have known better than to try this this year. Fred turned around and saw HER. Brianna Trotti. His heart skipped a beat and little butterflies fluttered around in his stomach. He regained his composure and smiled at her. He held up a piece of paper that, in actuality, was blank on the other side._

_"Chore for a professor." Brianna raised an eyebrow. "Two hours after curfew? And for what professor?" Fred mentally cursed himself. She was too smart. He put down the paper and held up a piece of fudge. "I snuck down to the kitchens. Comfort food, you know? It's dangerous out there nowadays, and I just-" Brianna walked towards him and plucked the fudge out of his hands. She winked at him (DID SHE JUST WINK AT ME, Fred had thought) and delicately put the fudge in her mouth. _

_She turned around and was almost around the corner before she said, "Goodnight, Fred. Get to the tower." Fred didn't know that, as soon as she turned the corner, she smacked her forehead and muttered 'stupid, stupid, stupid' repeatedly until her patrol was over._

Fred had made so many inside jokes related to that one night of rule-breaking (little did HE know that she had caught him doing naughty things HUNDREDS of times and had done anything very few times) and had winked at her in the same way she had to him many times as well. She cherished that memory more than anything, even though thinking about it made her face burn. No doubt he had told George, but she was honestly surprised more didn't know. One rule-breaker favor for another, she supposed.

"Miss Trotti, can you answer this question for me?" Brianna woke from her reverie and looked up to the professor, horrified. Thankfully, the question was written on the board.


	3. Chapter 3: The Fireworks

"Er, hullo, George…" Kylee Keiser and George Weasley were in a BIT of a pickle. Both had been coming back from Quidditch practice (Kylee was the current keeper), and were somehow now in a dark closet. Kylee and George were very close to each other, and George was blushing madly while Kylee just kept adjusting her glasses, a habit she had (or so she'd been told) that occurred when nervous or flustered.

"George… Um, how did we get from the hallway to here?" George didn't seem to know either. Was it coincidental? Was it just natural? Or was George messing with her?" Knowing that's the kind of thing he would do, she frowned and pushed him away from the door leading back out to the hallway. George looked at her, confused, but she was already out the door. Goodness knows the rumors that started circulating when George Weasley, resident prankster, and Kylee Keiser, resident nerd and TOTAL geek, left the same closet looking equally flustered. How _scandalous._

Brianna and Fred had taken to sitting next to each other in every class, and every once in a while sitting next to each other in the Great Hall. Neither knew what had brought it on or how it had first occurred or who had even STARTED it, but it seemed natural and they both liked it. Although, they both liked ANYTHING that had to do with the other, but they liked it all the same. George had begun sitting next to Kylee, and Brittany next to Leslie, and so on so forth. Except for one small detail no one knew but themselves: Fred and Brianna also held hands under the table. It was nice, and it didn't feel romantic, but calm.

Whenever Brianna's hand slipped into Fred's, she felt peace and serenity that she didn't know EXISTED. It felt cool and calm and a bunch of other things that Brianna couldn't separate from the next. Fred felt all those things, but his felt a little more accelerated. He felt loved and extremely calm and he felt immense trust. He also felt kindness, and he didn't want to ruin this 'thing' he and Bri had. They had grown closer, and had been rubbing off on each other. While Bri became more rule-bendy and joke-ish around him (she already HAD been joke-ish, but she started to show it around people-who-weren't-well-acquainted-with-her), Fred became more serious about school and she got him to read for recreation. Ron and Harry actually found him in the library, reading a book that wasn't about good pranks, with no Bri in sight.

Bri and Fred didn't know what it was, but they knew that it wouldn't stay like that forever, 'that' being content and perfect. They were graduating in 6 months, and both wouldn't be satisfied with nothing more than a hand-hold and sneaked-in glances during class and breakfast. So Bri hatched a plan.

What she DIDN'T know was that so had Fred.

It all started around Christmas time. The school had decided that in celebration of Christmas, all the students that were staying at the school for the holidays could go to Hogsmeade every other day of the week (So Monday, then Wednesday, then Friday, and so on) for those two weeks. Brianna and Fred sort of had this mutual agreement that they would go with each other without asking. It was like they were in perfect synchronization (Probably because for both of their plans to work, they had to go to Hogsmeade with each other).

Fred was staying at the school that year because that was the year that his parents were working for the Order, so they wanted all the children currently at Hogwarts to stay there whenever possible. Bri's parents were spying on the ministry of magic for the Order, so they had the same reasoning for her. Bri's brother was, at the time, on an extended vacation at her muggle grandparents' house. So, the morning of the first Hogsmeade trip, Bri walked down the stairs of her dormitory to be greeted by Fred with a hand extended to help her down the rest of the way.

There were a few murmurs as to why the twins were (for once) going to Hogsmeade separately; the reason being that George was going with Kylee and they were all meeting up at The Three Broomsticks later in the day. George and Kylee had plans to go to the bookstore and Zonko's (naturally) and then get food before meeting up at the Three Broomsticks for drinks (as they were 17 and could get firewhiskey, that's Fred and George usually get. Kylee and Bri will get Butterbeers.)

Anyhow, when Fred and Brianna clasped hands and walked to Hogsmeade together on that cold crisp morning, something happened. Not a zap of electricity, or a magical, mystifying epiphany, nothing like the great romance novels of our century describe it as: It just _happened. _It was as if it came out of nowhere, there was no transition, no sign of how it became so, one minute they're holding hands, laughing at a joke, and the next, they look at each other and Fred feels this urge to take her back to the castle so they can be alone, while Bri just wants to be around him and no one else.

So they did. But they didn't go back to the castle. Instead, they got a corner booth in The Three Broomsticks early and just talked. About everything. About how they grew up, about their family, about how they themselves were doing, about private things, and (most of all), how they grew to love each other. There was no shame, no hiding, perfect openness and complete trust. Everything out on the table. Any shame, embarrassment, ideas, bad things they've done (Fred's list was SIGNIICANTLY longer than hers) all there for the other to see.

They loved it.

It was one of those moments where everything is perfect because you can tell it is. There are some perfect moments that aren't perfect just because you can't tell. There are some perfect moments that aren't perfect because you're alone, no one to share it with. Bri wished that the moment could last forever.

But, of course, it couldn't.

There were shouts from Hogsmeade's cobbled streets, both shouts of indifference and cries of being afraid. Fred, being the noble man he was (pretty sure Brianna snuck that in there somehow), got up and ran outside, and Brianna, being the HEAD GIRL she was, followed him. It was a big fight. One of the bigger ones that she had seen in her time at Hogwarts. George Weasley, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter were all in a fight with Draco Malfoy (even though they were in different years, EVERYONE knew how much of a prat he was. Especially with how much he had ripped on her muggle-born mother, and Brianna didn't even know HOW he knew about that) and his thugs.

Fred, naturally, jumped in to defend his twin (and his brother and family-friend) and was graciously accepted into the rumble. Brianna ran over to Kylee, who was yelling at them to stop, while Brianna (being head girl) took out her wand and screamed 'protego' at the right moment when her friends were on one side and the goons were on the other. It stopped the fight the way she intended it to, but not before the toad- er, PROFFESOR, Umbridge had come down and saw what that 'hububble' was.

That soft 'hem hem' alerted all of them to her presence, which was met with a loud groan, even from her 'imperial squad' (SURELY, she must have known how much they all hated her?), and she walked briskly up to the four Gryffindor boys sitting on the ground with bruises and scrapes (though not NEARLY as many as the Slytherins on the other side, which probably didn't help their case) and smiled all innocent like down at them. "Boys, boys… Now, fighting is not good, is it?" A few weeks ago, Fred and George had pranked Umbridge, which was not a good idea in the SLIGHTEST, and she had told them "Now, be good, or I'll take you off the Quidditch team for good!"

Brianna knew this wasn't going to go well.

"I can't believe that toad! At the most, take me and George off the Quidditch team, but Harry hasn't done anything wrong almost all year! Her deal was with US and us alone, and yet she took Harry off as well! Now Gryffindor has no chance of winning, our last year no less!" Brianna listened intently to Fred's ranting, and patted his hand.

"Oh, it'll be OK, Fred. You think McGonagall would let this stand? No, no, you'll be back on the team by the end of the week. Your head boy, after all, and head boys get some perks!"

It seems the only perk of being head boy was not getting detention with Umbridge. George, Ron, and Harry all got Umbridge for detention (George and Harry – one week, Ron- two) while Fred got Snape for one week. Fred couldn't seem to decide which was worse.

Brianna and Fred had it rough those next few weeks. Fred and George were always working on something, and this was the first time Fred wouldn't tell her something. Any questions or sneaking up on them was always answered with 'you'll see'. Brianna DESPERATLY wanted to know what it was, but, more than anything, she wanted to have her Fred back. When she became needy of him and when she started referring to him as 'her Fred', she didn't know. But she knew that she missed him.

And she was going to miss him a lot more, soon.

It began on one of the days in early spring. NEWT's were coming up in about a month, so Brianna was studying alone, which she had become accustomed to since Fred's 'disappearance'. She still saw him in the halls, and talked to him every once in a while during meals, but he moved back to his original class seat: next to George. Bri moved back next to Leslie, and all the seats were moved back to their original positions. It was like that 'thing' that had happened between them had never happened at all, and it scared her that she messed something up or he just decided he didn't like her as much as he thought.

It turned out if was nothing like that at all. Halfway during breakfast, the twins left early with a big crowd. It was very unusual of them, and being the stalker she had become, Bri noticed. She looked up and could have SWORN she saw Fred turn around and smile mischievously and then wink at her. Then he left the Great Hall, but Brianna still had his smile stuck in her head. She had shaken it off and was about to leave early herself, when she heard a firework go off. And then another. And then _another._ Being head girl, she left immediately to investigate, along with Umbridge and Professor McGonagall.

They all turned the corner and saw a lot of students standing there, amazed looks on their faces. They were all looking up, and Bri followed their line of sight… FIREWORKS. BIG, BEAUTIFUL, fireworks! She felt herself too smiling, and looked around for whoever had succeeded in doing this magical deed. She felt sad moments later, because SURELY McGonagall would know how to banish them and would do so right away. Looking back at the teachers who had followed her, she saw McGonagall shaking her head as if she didn't know how to vanish them and Umbridge making vain attempts to do just that.

McGonagall saw her watching and smiled at her, but it seemed to Brianna that she was stifling laughter. Oh, naughty, NAUGHTY Professor McGonagall.

Bri thought she had seen flashes of red hair heading towards the headmaster's office (Which at that time housed that most INSUFFERABLE toad, Umbridge) but she just shook it off and continued to watch the fireworks in amazement. Then, she realized she could have a chance to talk to Fred ALONE during all this, and listened to her gut and then walked away from the sound and ooh's and ah's.

She arrived at the headmaster's office just to see it opening, and two taller figures walk into it. She slid past the gargoyle right as it closed and followed them up the stairs. As she originally predicted, it WAS Fred and George, and they were grabbing their broomsticks off the wall. They had their trunks with them, for whatever odd reason. Fred seemed to know she was coming and turned around, smiling as though he was happy to see her, but at the same time, wasn't.

Brianna approached Fred and asked the first thing that popped into her mind. "Fred, what's going on?" Fred sighed and walked towards her, looking to his brother like 'can we have a minute?' George appeared to understand and went down to the little area by the gargoyle entrance under the stairs with his trunk attached to the back of his broom. Fred turned back to her and ran his hand through his hair.

"Bri, me and George are tired of school. We've got our shop practically ready to open, and, honestly there's no need to take NEWT's if we're creating our OWN job. So, we're going out with a BANG! ...Get it, 'cause they're fireworks-"Bri cut him off. "I get it. But why couldn't you tell me? I really missed you, and now that I finally get to talk to you, you're going to make me miss you more? I really liked you, might even love-"

"Fred, mate, we gotta go! She's coming!" Fred looked at Brianna one last time, before deciding that it was now or never and kissing her. They stayed like that for a few moments before Fred broke it and grabbed his broom that also had his trunk attached to it. He looked over his shoulder once he got to the top of the stairs, and said "I love you."

Then he was gone, leaving Brianna standing there with the lingering taste of Fred Weasley's lips on hers.


	4. Chapter 4: Waiting

"Bri, you need to stop doing this." Bri removed her head from the book she fell asleep on last night, and looked up at Kylee. "What? Doing what, I'm not doing anything." Kylee lowered her head down to Bri's and looked her dead in the eye menacingly. "Really?" Bri groaned and sat up, shaking her head. Over the last few months, she had been going through a sort of withdrawal. She went to the library more, often falling asleep while reading. Reading was like her comfort thing, it made all the feeling go away, replaced by a dully-throbbing numbness. She missed Fred, more than she cared to admit.

She didn't know that Kylee was going through the same type of withdrawal, just not as painful, and she hid it well. No one really knew, except for Brittany, who had found her crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Yet Kylee still comforted Bri and shook her out of missing-Fred-ness. She was awesome like that. "Bri? It's time for class now." Bri bolted up from her chair and started fussing with her hair and clothes, straitening them and chastising Kylee for not waking her sooner.

Everyone had already finished their NEWT's, but the 5th years still had to take OWL's and the other years had to take THEIR finals, so the 7th years weren't even doing anything in class except anxiously waiting for their NEWT grades to be released and filling out job applications to varying places, but Bri only wanted one job: She wanted to work with Fred and George at their shop.

She didn't know when she decided this exactly, but she knew she wanted to help them out with their shop SOMEHOW. She wanted it and she wanted it BADLY. Kylee filled out a healer application and a _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_ application, as well. She thought working at the shop would be cool. They had another month left of school, and then the girls were all going to buy an apartment together somewhere near Diagon Alley. Kylee and Bri had gone apartment hunting just a few weeks ago on a break, and had reported their findings back to Brittany and Leslie. They had it narrowed down to two places.

The days went by agonizingly slow, with the only thing of relative excitement being that last Quidditch match of the season (Gryffindor lost to Ravenclaw by 40 points) and then it was the last day. It went by pretty smoothly, only pausing for Bri when all the 7th years got their NEWT's back. Here's Bri's next to Kylee's:

Bri Kylee

Potions: O O

Transfiguration: O O

Herbology: O O

Care of Magical Creatures: O O

Divination: E A

Charms: O O

Defense against the Dark Arts: O O

History of Magic: E O

Arithmacy: O E

Bri was reasonably pleased with her NEWT scores, so she left Hogwarts with a peace of mind. The train ride wasn't depressing like people said it was going to be, because all of her best friends were either going to LIVE WITH HER, or were going to live close to her. It's not like they were leaving FOREVER.

Bri really couldn't wait to go to Fred and George's shop and interview and all that jazz, but Kylee and Leslie and Brittany insisted on getting the apartment done and handled before ANYTHING ELSE. So they did! They found the cutest apartment, GET THIS, two blocks away the shop! It was a match made in heaven!

It had a little kitchen, two bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, a living room, and a dining room half merged into the living room. Plus, with a four way split down the rent, it was going to be pretty cheap rates for all four of them. They moved in right away, but they cleaned out the place first. It hadn't been used in YEARS, and there were doxies and bogarts and pixies all over the place in cabinets and curtains and closets and cupboards.

The essential cleaning out took longer than the moving in did. Since they had all lived with their parents with one room for their entire lives, they didn't have that much stuff to move with. Then, they had to go shopping. Then they had to coordinate colors. THEN they had to do this, and that, and this, and that! Brianna just wanted to move in and then go see Fred!

They were all coming home from yet ANOTHER shopping endeavor when an owl tapped on their apartment window. Kylee got it, and came into Bri's room smiling. "Yea, Kylee?" "It's for you!"

Bri patiently awaited Fred at the corner by Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop, ready to see him for the first time in months. She had so much to tell him, and although she was super excited, she had to hide it. She was mad at him for not telling her about their plans. Yes, she was head girl supreme, but could they really not trust her?

Fred finally turned the corner to where Bri was waiting, but he wasn't alone. He had a beautiful girl with him, long legs, silvery hair, and rosy cheeks. She looked like a discount veela, but that didn't make her any less beautiful. Brianna didn't know what to expect when he wrote saying he wanted to meet her there, but she sure as heck didn't expect that. Bri, already somewhat emotional unstable, left the corner before Fred could see her.

Being the stalker that she was, Bri waited just out of his eyesight and watched him get a table. She watched him interact with the girl; it didn't seem like they were dating, but Fred wasn't an average person, so she couldn't be sure. So, she left and was very upset the next couple of days. She saw advertisements for the shop EVERYWHERE, and her friends were all talking about it. They could tell she was upset about SOMETHING, which they weren't expecting after her meeting with Fred. She should've been all bubbly.

Fred attempted to correspond with her again, but she didn't respond. Being a fellow Gryffindor graduate (or so he said, his reasoning was ENTIRELY different) he went over to the girl's apartment to check on her. Kylee answered the door and her face went through some odd varying emotions.

"BRI! IT'S…" Her voice trailed off and Fred eyed her suspiciously. After several seconds….. "WHO IS IT?" Kylee thought hard for a moment. Fred considered supplying his name, but….

"IT'S GINNY WEASLEY!" "WHY WOULD GINNY WANT ME?" "I DON'T KNOW, COME GET THE DOOR!" Bri ran to the entry way and looked over at the door. Her eyes narrowed. "You lied." Kylee acted hurt. "No, no I didn't! Ginny left… A few seconds ago! Fred JUST got here, I didn't even know he was coming!" Then Kylee ran to her room and locked the door before Bri could kill her.

Fred entered the apartment and Bri backed away, eying her bedroom door like she was about to bolt.

"Bri, are you mad at me? What did I do?" Fred looked significantly hurt. He seriously didn't know what he did wrong. Bri looked over at his sad face and sighed. "Look, Fred, what is this? Between us, I mean." Fred started and closed his mouth and repeated this process about 10 times before just giving up on the whole endeavor.

"Fred, if you don't know, then should we really be doing this?!" Bri paused and looked him straight in the eye. "Should we really go back and forth like this!?" Bri could feel tears pooling in her eyes. "It's killing both of us and you know it!" She paused. "So tell me! What is this?!" Fred looked up at her with a lot of pain in his eyes, wishing that they could just be together. So he said one simple thing:

"Bri, all I know is that I love you. That's all it ever was and that's all it ever will be." Bri felt the tears begin to spill over and ran to Fred, hugging him fiercely, as if she'd never let him go. Fred hugged her back and buried his head in her hair, before pulling back slightly and kissing her gently. When they broke the kiss off seconds later, they smiled at each other before leaving to go get some long awaited ice cream.

"Oh, I CANNOT believe you thought Verity was my date! No, no, you've got it all wrong!" Bri raised an eyebrow at this but continued watching Fred talk with exaggerated hand motions, as he always did. "No, Verity came with me to tell you how fun working in the shop is! See, I sort of had this idea of you working at the shop…" Bri stopped licking her ice-cream at this and put up a hand.

"Wait, wait, did you not get my application?" Fred shook his head. "Wait, you sent in an appli-"Bri put up another hand until Fred stopped talking. "Yea, I did, but how did you not get it? Fred shrugged and went back to eating his ice-cream without a care in the world, and then he paused and said, "You're hired, if you were wondering, me and George-" "George and _I._" Fred waved it off.

"Yeah, yeah, George and _I _talked it over last night. Verity is only here for a few more weeks and then she's going back to Bulgaria-"Odd, Bri thought, considering she looked like a veela. "So we'll have two spots. You're getting hired NOW, but George is hiring someone else we both know that also sent in an application, except, in this instance, we actually RECEIVED it." Bri smiled at this, but then thought about who the other applicant might be. I think we ALL know who it was.

Bri started work the next week after getting COMPLETELY settled (housemates request) and when she did, it was brilliant. Fred immediately brought her to the backroom and got her started on making things, because apparently Verity was all smiles and waving and no brains (no surprises _there_) and talked her through most of the products. She started small with the _Skiving Snackboxes_ and some _Wonder Witch_ stuff, like minor love potions. They were truly outstanding, each product was unique and complex and worked almost perfectly (_ALMOST_) and Bri picked it up almost instantly.

Fred came back with her and worked with her for a few hours, then he and George switched, and then they were both back on the floor. Summer is a really popular time for them; they were constantly coming back and walking her through making stuff they were out of, of grabbing more boxes of stuff off of the MANY shelves in the backroom. Verity came back in one instance and seemed EXTREMELY put off, like she didn't like Bri for some unknown reason.

She came in during Fred and George's lunch hour (Verity and Bri's came after theirs, but working during the twin's lunch hour was surprisingly taxing) and grabbed a few boxes but stopped on her way back to the floor, looked over her shoulder, and _pff_'d. Bri looked up from what she was currently working on (_Puking Pastille_'s) and saw her SASHAYING away from the door before it swung shut by itself.

Bri just shook it off the first time and went back to her work, but then Verity came in again for NO REASON at ALL and just watched her work for a few minutes before scoffing and going back to the floor. Bri looked around for a second before thinking,_ she's not just allowed to LEAVE like that, is she? _By the time the twins came back and Verity left to go eat lunch who knows where, Fred stopped Bri and told her that he had bought her something while he was out with George so they could talk over some of the products she would be making later.

They did NOT just talk. (A/N: IT WAS JUST KISSING, THAT'S ALL, I SWEAR!)

By the time the day ended, Bri was pretty tired out. She had ran around looking for ingredients and had to go out onto the floor with NO INSTRUCTION OR TRAINING WHATSOEVER because Fred accidentally spilled something toxic on himself and had to get it off. The whole ordeal actually only took 20 minutes, which is pretty short when you remember that he had boils all over him, but 20 minutes could be pretty challenging at _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_.

Verity came into the backroom at the end of the day and said goodbye to Fred and George with a kiss on the cheek to each of them ("It's a _custom _in Bulgaria" Fred had argued later. Yeah, Bri had MET a Bulgarian during her 6th year. Yeah, NOT a custom, Fred!), scoffed (AGAIN) at Bri, and then left.  
"Wow, what did you do to HER?" George whistled. "I've never seen her so put off." Fred nodded in agreement. Bri laughed and then frowned, realization dawning on her. They leaned forward. "What is it?" They asked in the same mischievous voices, which they hadn't done in so long it broke Bri out of her reverie and made her laugh loudly and obnoxiously, making them join in as well.

They didn't know Verity was outside the store looking in the back window at their gleeful faces, anger bubbling within her."

The next morning Bri bolted out of bed, hurriedly got ready, and almost skipped out on breakfast if Kylee hadn't threatened to erase the hard drive on Bri's desktop computer if skipping meals became a regular thing, as she had done the same thing the previous morning. Bri had gulped and sat down quickly and panicky and almost spilled the pancake syrup all over her magenta uniform. The girls at the table all laughed, and after a few moments of trying (and failing) to pretend to be put off, Bri joined them and it seemed like just another breakfast after a great sleepover.

Bri could get used to this.


	5. Chapter 5: Rainbows Come After the Rain

Chapter 5: Rainbows Come After the Rain

"Verity? Could you come back here for a moment?" Bri hated having to ask Verity for help, but the twins didn't have cellphones and they were unreachable any other way during their lunch break. After scoffing so loudly that Bri could hear her over the huge crowd in the shop and in the back room with insulated walls, Verity runway walked into the room. Bri had two boxes in her hands, seemingly identical with the same labels, but the potion bottles looked different. Bri used the instruction book Fred made her very often, but it didn't have pictures in it, so she often used the actual products in storage for reference.

"Yes?" Bri could practically feel the invented aura of superiority. Bri sighed and gestured to the bottles. "Yea, could you tell me which one is the proper color for the product?" Before answering her, there was a pause, in which Bri imagined Verity had rolled her eyes as dramatically as physically and mentally possible, and then she used her overly pink nails to point to the box in Bri's right hand, which had a blue potion in it in favor to a pink one.

"There. Anything else?" The crowd outside seemed to be getting louder, so Bri decided to wait until her lunch break to give Verity a piece of her mind. Bri put the boxes down and returned to her cauldron (in which she brewed a _Wonder Witch_ one week love potion in) before saying, "Nope. You can go now." And smiling.

"Bri, I brought you some food!" Fred and George were back from their lunch break, and they looked almost fiercely optimistic, about what, Bri had no idea. Bri accepted the bag of _Florean Fortescue's_ (they had started to serve food other than the greatest ice-cream on Earth, which of course resulted in the greatest tasting lunches and dinners on Earth) and started eating in right away. She joined Fred at the counter and talked to him which he checked people out (after Verity helped Bri and made a mini-scene before returning to the floor, the line had doubled, maybe tripled). It took topic switching multiple times before she got around to asking him why he and George looked so luminous.

"Luminous?" Fred gave her a crooked smile (which made her melt inside, but that could also have been the glorious _Fortescue_ patty melt) in which Bri smiled back before explaining that, unlike most people, she preferred to switch up her words that she used in day-to-day conversation. Kylee did the same thing. They even played a game where they had to come up with an adjective for each letter of the alphabet. After asking how the game worked and receiving a simple explanation, Fred wanted to play this 'Adjective Game', as he so creatively called it.

Sighing, because her question was once again thwarted, Bri started it out.

"Amused." Fred thought for a second and then responded with, "Bashful." Smiling proudly, Fred practically supplied Bri with her next choice of word. "Charming." Fred plucked a French fry from her bag. "Delightful." "Exuberant." Fred whistled and complemented her on that one. But he had a better one. "Flirtatious." Flushing, they continued the game practically using each other as inspiration. It wasn't until Bri used 'mischievous' for M that Fred used one that described himself. "Nervous." Bri looked down before doing O.

"Ordinary." Fred looked directly at her, ignoring the next customer, and said "perfect". Bri finished her food and smiled _bashfully. _When Bri's lunch break was over, she felt great. Great enough that she completely forgot about why Fred and George had looked so pleased and optimistic after their own lunch break.

"Kylee, would you like to come to dinner with me tonight?" George looked incredibly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck with a nervous look on his face. Kylee wanted to laugh, because it was so funny to see him that way. But she didn't. Hearing about Bri and Fred's relationship all the time had its perks, no matter how annoying it was. While not entirely the same person, Fred and George were defiantly very similar.

So, suppressing the urge to laugh with the expertise only gained through being friends with Bri, Kylee smiled and nodded and then suddenly shouted RAINBOWS. George jumped slightly and then raised an eyebrow. Kylee smacked a hand over her mouth and smiled (At least, George thought she smiled. Her eyes crinkled, at least) apologetically. George's eyebrow, however, merely shot up further.

"Rainbows. I like rainbows, and sometimes the word just pops out of my mouth. A lot like marf." "Marf." "Yes, marf. It's weird, I know, but-" George grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. "I think it's adorable." Kylee flushed and smiled.

When George promised to get someone dinner, he DELIVERED. Kylee hadn't had that good of a meal since she graduated. And the best part? George COOKED it. He justified being an amazing cook by stating that it was a lot like brewing potions and inventing things: once you get the recipe down, you just have to follow the instructions. As soon as he finished describing that, Kylee asked him in a serious tone if they had considered her _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes _application. George spit out his food and coughed a bit.

"Considered? Kylee, you've got the job! We just were figuring out the pay plans and shifts and such. Obviously, you and Bri will want to work together, but Verity very clearly stated that she wanted to keep her shift," Kylee narrowed her eyes. "and that's the only time Bri and Fred could POSSIBLY have lunch together, and obviously I wouldn't mind eating lunch with you every day, but Verity-"

"Wait, wait, I thought Verity was moving back to Bulgaria?" George looked confused for a second and then shook his head. "Oh, no, did we not tell you?" Kylee stared at him intensely. "Verity decided that she wants to stay! Isn't that great?"

Kylee had a lot of thoughts about Verity staying, but one was very evident. Bri would NOT think it was great.

"That movie was amazing!" Bri leaned into Fred and looked up at him. "That part with the dragons was AWESOME!" Fred looked down and smiled before lacing his hand with hers and inviting her to dinner at the _Florean Fortiscue's_. Bri got super excited and practically pulled him down the cracked and bumpy cobbled streets of Diagon Alley. "Come on, Fred! Did you even have to ask?"

Fred got up to her strides within seconds, and soon they were laughing and getting glanced at at the entrance to Bri's new favorite restaurant. They got a table, sat down, and talked for a while until their food came. Bri suddenly remembered the 'luminous' vibe she had gotten from the twins earlier that day, and also remembered how sidetracked she had gotten when asking about it.

"Hey, so why DID you look so luminous today? And don't you question my adjectives!" Fred smiled that crooked smile (Again, Bri was unsure if it was the patty melt or that smile of his that got her heart racing like she had heart burn super bad. Probably both.) and explained how they had been looking into when Kylee could start working (Bri smiled widely at this) and then Verity had walked into their office in the back room. (Bri's smile vanished)

"So she said she changed her mind about moving back, and is going to stay until further notice. Isn't that great? We've been waiting to tell you because we thought we were going to have to either wait out Verity before Kylee could start working (George didn't like that idea) or fire Verity (which neither of us wanted to do), but then we devised a system of pay and shifts that works out for everybody! That's why we looked so, how you would put it, 'luminous'" Crooked smile, "today."

Bri waited a few moments with her eyes closed and her lips tightly shut (to attempt to control her emotions) before responding. But, like anybody that has known Bri for even the BRIEFEST of times, Fred could read her like a book, which is something he was particularly adept at doing. "That's… that's great, Fred. That Verity's staying, I mean. How wonderful that is. Goodness knows we couldn't survive a day without her!" Bri laughed nervously and pretended that she didn't notice Fred studying her.

"What's up with you and Verity? Verity's cool." Bri pursed her lips together. Since she and Fred weren't even officially 'together' yet, she didn't want to sound like the jealous girlfriend type, even though she knew that Verity was literally rude to her for no reason and has no justification for staying now that the date she's been arranging to leave on for months now has arrived. But seriously? 'Verity's cool?' Does he not remember the day he and George witnessed her 'coolness' (and not in the typically 'cool' aspect) towards Bri?

"I like Verity, it's just that sometimes…" Fred raised an eyebrow and waited. And waited. "Go on." Bri took a sip of her soda before responding. Ok, not a sip. A long drink. "She seems to think that I'm inferior to her and treats me like I shouldn't be in her domain. And apparently she's tricked herself into thinking that the shop is her domain." Fred narrowed his eyes and Bri waited for whatever response was coming.

"You know, Bri, she's really cool, you just have to give her a chance-" Bri suddenly pushed up from her chair and moved to grab her wallet from her purse. "Where- Where are you going?" She put the cost of her food on the table (not wanting to seem rude, of course, after leaving the table mid-meal) and slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I've given her chance after chance, Fred. Why don't you trust me?" And then she was gone.


End file.
